Lisa finished her second cup of instant noodles.
Once again, she didn't even leave a drop of broth.
Jean watched the satisfied expression on her face and asked, "So, have you reached any conclusions?"
Lisa's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm starting to get a bit of an idea."
"What kind of idea?"
"Don't rush me. Let me finish studying the other two cups first, then I'll give you my conclusion… Don't look at me like that. Come on, I wouldn't lie just to get a few more noodles out of you."
"I'm not so sure about that…"
"Fine, fine, seeing as you brought me food, I'll let it slide." Lisa stood up and stretched her slender waist, then casually asked, "That Headmaster Xia—he's still picking out books in the library, right?"
Jean nodded. "Yeah."
"But isn't he blind?"
"He has someone helping him."
"A blind headmaster so dedicated to his job, that's a first for me." Lisa brushed back a lock of hair by her ear, a glint flashing in her eyes. "I didn't pay much attention this morning, but now I think I should go take a good look at him."
"Aren't you tired anymore?"
"I napped all morning. I've recovered a bit. Besides, I just ate—it's not great to sleep right after eating. Perfect chance for a walk."
"...I'll go with you."
"What, you don't trust me?"
"That's not it."
"Then why aren't you back in your office working?"
"I'm free today. No rush."
"Suit yourself."
Lisa and Jean walked out of the office, treading lightly through the library. Before long, they found Xia Zhi in front of one of the deeper rows of shelves.
The two girls stopped in their tracks, surprised by what they saw.
At the moment, Xia Zhi was standing alone in front of the shelves.
There was no one beside him.
He reached out, carefully took a book from the shelf, but instead of flipping through it, he simply held it in his hand for a moment.
Then, he either put it back where it came from or placed it at his feet.
What… is he doing?
Could he really tell whether a book met his criteria just by holding it?
—
Xia Zhi reached out and took down another book.
The moment the book was in his hand, the system's voice rang in his mind.
"Trait [Erudition] activated. Unknown knowledge detected. Would you like to comprehend it directly?"
"Yes."
As soon as he confirmed, the knowledge from the book flooded into Xia Zhi's mind, allowing him to instantly grasp all of it.
This was the effect of the [Scholar's Ring].
When facing unknown knowledge, Xia Zhi had a small chance (1%–5%) of instantly comprehending it.
Given his absurdly high luck stat, even if the system always rolled on the 5% chance, he should've only been triggering this effect once every twenty books on average.
But reality wasn't playing by those odds. Every single book he picked up was triggering [Erudition].
The success rate had jumped from 5% to 100%.
Something wasn't right.
Since this morning, Xia Zhi had already absorbed knowledge from countless books, and he could confirm that the knowledge itself was perfectly normal.
That meant the problem lay with the library.
The Favonius Library didn't seem like an ordinary building. It carried some extraordinary, knowledge-related property.
It could be a blessing… or a curse… or perhaps some mysterious item had been hidden in the library for so long that it had contaminated the entire place.
Xia Zhi pondered for a moment. Feeling that the knowledge he'd just gained might be useful, he placed the finished book onto the growing pile at his feet and reached for the next one.
—
In Mondstadt City.
Outside the Adventurers' Guild.
Fischl and Bennett met up again for the first time as a team.
Bennett flashed an enthusiastic grin and gave a big thumbs-up in front of his chest.
"A young man in sunglasses, always surrounded by pretty girls… I get it now! Leave it to me! I'll find this guy for you in no time!"
Fischl frowned slightly. "As my comrade, thou must know—speaking in vain is a grave sin."
The night raven on her shoulder, Oz, translated smoothly, "What the young lady means is—don't make big promises. Just find the guy."
Bennett scratched his head and laughed brightly. "Of course! I'm off then! Benny's Adventure Team, move out!"
With that, the boy dashed off into the distance.
Fischl watched his back disappear, then turned and started walking herself.
Oz flapped his wings and spoke, "Milady, Bennett's luck is… really bad."
"I am the Prinzessin der Verurteilung. Mere misfortune cannot hinder me."
"This isn't normal misfortune. I've heard the other adventurers in the Guild talking. Apparently, the rest of Benny's Adventure Team already quit."
"Oh?"
Oz began reciting the intel he'd overheard.
"Adventurer Jack—Benny's first teammate—almost reached a treasure chest when a once-in-a-century Geo turbulence hit. A giant chasm opened right in front of him."
"Royce heard a mysterious blast sound in a cave, and then a huge crash knocked him out cold."
"Heckler joined Benny's team and immediately suffered a week of severe diarrhea."
"…"
After listening to Oz, Fischl paused mid-step.
Oz continued, "But there's good news, too. According to adventurer Herman, 'as long as you do the exact opposite of whatever Bennett does, every adventure will go smoothly.'"
"Thy meaning is…"
"Exactly, milady. Since Bennett went searching in one direction, if we go the exact opposite way, we're bound to find something."
"Hmm… As a royal, I shall heed the counsel of my retainer from time to time."
Fischl turned and headed toward the Favonius Cathedral.
Before long, she arrived at the cathedral plaza.
Oz flew off her shoulder, soaring into the sky to search for their target from above.
After a thorough sweep, Oz landed back on her shoulder and spoke with a hint of apology, "Milady, I didn't see them."
Fischl, however, was eavesdropping on the conversation of two nearby citizens.
"This morning, when I came to offer flowers to the Anemo Archon, I heard the most beautiful music."
"Oh? Music?"
"Yes! It was played by an outsider wearing sunglasses. The instrument he held was really unusual. I've never heard anything so moving."
"Come on, don't exaggerate. Remember that bard Venti? He won the contest at last year's Windblume Festival."
"That bard played the same tune this morning, but honestly, it wasn't as good as the outsider's."
"…"
Fischl's eyes lit up as she listened.
Oz mused, "Milady, do you think the man playing music here this morning was the person we're looking for?"
Fischl nodded. "I sense a premonition. This must be the one I seek!"
Oz added, "Looks like going in the opposite direction from Bennett really did pay off. This 'adventuring wisdom' might actually be legit."
—
Amber brought Cloud Retainer and Ying'er to the Knights of Favonius' alchemy workshop.
"This is where Albedo and Sucrose work. Sucrose, are you here?"
"I'm here." A soft, unfamiliar girl's voice replied from inside.
A moment later, the door opened, revealing a delicate face. Even though she wore glasses, it was easy to tell she was a little shy.
Sucrose politely introduced herself, "Hello, I'm Sucrose, the Knights of Favonius' alchemist. Nice to meet you all."
Ying'er quickly responded, "Hello, Miss Sucrose! I'm Ying'er, from Liyue's Summer Shop. It's great to meet you too."
Cloud Retainer looked at her and said, "I… I am Xianyun, a mechanist from Liyue. Greetings."
Amber smiled and added, "Xianyun here is actually one of Xiangling's mentors."
"Xiangling?" Sucrose blinked, surprised. "You know Xiangling that well?"
Cloud Retainer asked curiously, "Do you know her too?"
Sucrose's expression softened with nostalgia. "Yes, I met Xiangling last year. She even treated me to a big feast—it was delicious! Oh, come in, everyone, please have a seat."
At Sucrose's invitation, the group stepped into the mysterious alchemy lab. Inside, there were all kinds of materials scattered about, most of them plant leaves and seeds.
In the corner sat a large burlap sack. Its bottom was stained dark, and through the seams, red liquid dripped onto the floor, filling the air with the thick, metallic scent of blood.
The scene was… eerily reminiscent of a crime scene.
Sucrose invited everyone to sit by the table, then went to brew tea.
Ying'er glanced at the sack in the corner and asked curiously, "Miss Sucrose, what's in that bag?"
Sucrose answered casually, "Oh, that? Fresh bones, still with meat and blood on them. I collected them from Mondstadt's butcher shop, the Adventurers' Guild, and the hunters in Springvale. They're special materials."
Cloud Retainer asked, "Are you studying something with them?"
This time Sucrose's face turned a little red. "Actually… no. It's just my personal obsession. I'm really curious about biology, so I collect bones and such. You could call it a hobby."
Ying'er and Cloud Retainer exchanged a glance. What a… peculiar hobby.
Amber, of course, already knew about this and wasn't the least bit surprised. She just sat nearby, fiddling with her new Space Ring.
While Sucrose brewed tea, Ying'er and Cloud Retainer took the opportunity to ask her about alchemy.
Though Sucrose was a bit shy, she was highly knowledgeable and answered their questions fluently and precisely.
Seeing the three of them chatting away, Amber quietly slipped out to continue her afternoon patrol.
In this friendly atmosphere, time passed quickly—a few hours went by in the blink of an eye.
Eventually, both Cloud Retainer and Ying'er realized they were getting hungry.
After all, they hadn't really had lunch, just a small cake earlier.
Ying'er was about to say goodbye and return to the library to meet back up with the others when she noticed a few empty test tubes on the alchemy table.
Curious, Cloud Retainer asked, "Miss Sucrose, what are those for?"
Sucrose looked a little embarrassed. "Well… this year, the Knights picked me as the Windblume Festival's Special Ambassador. So for this holiday of love and gratitude, I wanted to do something good for everyone."
Ying'er tilted her head. "Special Ambassador? How do they pick that?"
Sucrose explained, "They spin a bottle sponsored by 'Angel's Share' on a list of names. Whoever the bottle points to gets chosen."
Ying'er laughed. "That's… a pretty casual method. Very Mondstadt."
Sucrose gave her a helpless smile. "That's what I thought too. But they said it's fair—everyone has a chance to be picked. I'm not great at talking to people, so at first I was really nervous. But still, I'm happy to have this role!"
"Also, I found a way to motivate myself. Look at this…"
Sucrose picked up one of the empty test tubes.
"Every time I do something good for someone, I ask them to breathe into a tube. That way, I can collect lots of 'Breaths of Joy.'"
Cloud Retainer understood immediately. "And you plan to use these 'breaths' for research?"
Sucrose nodded. "Yes. I believe they're very precious materials. Maybe, through alchemy, I can create a miracle."
Cloud Retainer raised an eyebrow, unconvinced. "A miracle?"
For an Adeptus like her, the only thing worthy of being called a miracle would be Xia Zhi's ability to bring dead Archons back to life.
After spending the afternoon together, Sucrose already knew Cloud Retainer was a master of mechanics.
She wasn't offended by the skepticism.
"It's just my personal theory," she said earnestly. "Without enough data, I can't draw conclusions. Alchemists shouldn't make irresponsible claims."
"How many 'Breaths of Joy' do you plan to collect?"
"At least a dozen or so."
"Do you need help?"
"You two? …If you don't mind, I'd love for you both to blow into a tube!"
"Of course!" "Consider it done."
"Thank you so much!"
----
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